Jeff McDonald: Catching up with Brent Barry

HOUSTON — Brent Barry stood at the top of the 3-point arc in the Rockets’ practice gym, knocking down 3-pointers like there was no tomorrow.

If it hadn’t been for the logo on his practice jersey, the location of the gym we were in or the presence of a beard on his face, this could have been last season in San Antonio, and not this season in Houston.

For a sportswriter, any day you get a chance to talk to Barry — who set an unofficial record last season by appearing the Sports Illustrated’s quotable “They Said It” section three times — is a good day.

I caught up with him after the Rockets’ shootaround Thursday morning, hours before tipoff of tonight’s preseason game against his old team, the Spurs, at Toyota Center.

We talked about his new life in Houston. We talked about a Pearl Jam concert at Madison Square Garden that Barry and a certain Spurs beat writer happened to attend separately in June. We talked about Hurricane Ike, which Barry dodged by hiding out in the home he still owns in San Antonio.

Eventually, talk turned to Barry’s old team, and the Spurs’ chances of remaining competitive despite the very real prospect of playing without leading scorer Manu Ginobili for the first month and a half.

Here is what Barry had to say:

“A lot of teams are thinking the good news is that Manu is out for a month and a half,” Barry said. “Well, the bad news is he’s going to be back in a month and a half. He’s going to have a month and a half of rest, and a few hard weeks of conditioning, and he’s going to be fresh for most of the season.”

Barry is a Houston Rocket now, but he was with the Spurs for four seasons. As such, his take on his former team carries weight.

“There’s no way with Coach Pop and Tony and Tim and all the experience that squad has that they’re going to find themselves in a hole they can’t get out of,” Barry said. “It would be ridiculous to think that. I don’t think anybody around the league is foolish enough to think there are going to be any problems in San Antonio this year.”

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A member of the Houston media asked for Barry’s take on the difference between playing an actual preseason game, as the Rockets did Tuesday night against Memphis, and playing in an intrasquad scrimmage.

“It was much different, because Joey Dorsey was getting called for fouls,” Barry cracked. “He got to see what it’s like to finally get called for something.”

Dorsey, the Rockets’ bull of a rookie forward, has been a hit with the local media because of his say-anything loquaciousness. Everyone who’s ever dealt with Dorsey has a Dorsey story, and Barry’s comment gave me the opportunity to tell mine.

It happened at the Final Four in San Antonio two Marches ago. Dorsey, then at Memphis, was set to draw a defensive matchup against Ohio State 7-footer Greg Oden.

“It’s going to be David and Goliath,” Dorsey said then. “I’m Goliath.”

When relayed this story, Barry seemed more than a little amused.

“I’m going to have to take Joey to the library,” he said.

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Quick injury update for tonight’s preseason game …

The Spurs will be without four players who did not make the trip due to various degrees of injury. Kurt Thomas (hamstring), Salim Stoudamire (groin), Ian Mahinmi (ankle) and Ginobili (ankle surgery) will all watch the game from the comfort of their own living room.

Translation: Expect a D-League game to eventually break out, as Popovich gives a large helping of minutes to a bunch of undrafted rookies.

The Rockets, meanwhile, will again play without All-Star Tracy McGrady, who is still recovering from offseason knee surgery.